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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Mexican military arrests leader of Sinaloa cartel in Mexicali

A former Baja California state agent accused of heading the Sinaloa cartel’s operations in Mexicali has been detained along with nine other suspected cartel members, the Mexican military announced Friday in the state capital.

Gen. Alfonso Duarte Múgica, commander of Mexico’s Second Military Region, said that Jesús Raúl Ochóa Zazueta had been detained during an operation led by members of the 23rd Motorized Calvary Regiment.

Ochóa was a former member of the Baja California ministerial police who was dropped from the force in 2009. He and three other agents were accused of extorting neighborhood drug dealers in Mexicali.

Besides Ochoa, the detainees included six other men and three females, including one minor, Duarte said.

The operation, which took place in five separate locations, also led to the seizure of more than 223 kilos of cocaine and 116 kilos of marijuana, along with $13,100 in U.S. currency and 10,000 Mexican pesos, the military reported.

Also seized were nine vehicles, along with ammunition and numerous weapons, including 29 rifles, five grenade launchers, 34 40-mm grenades, seven defensive grenades, and 21,404 rounds of ammunition, according to the military.